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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

While I take a much needed holiday break, I will leave you with a couple of posts you may have missed. I will be back posting away next week with all of my adventures and an upcoming event in Chicago for Women's Health Magazine.

1. The legend of Disney continues into 2010 with my post showing behind the walls of Club 33. This was posted on Disney Food Blog and every week, I find new friends thanks to Uncle Walt.

2. This next article was written in 2009, but Demi Delia is an interesting woman. As a former adult star, she is raising two successful and smart kids. Crackle.com chronicled her life in an online reality show, Mommy XXX. Demi also made headlines again a few months ago as an alleged mistress of actor, David Boreanz.

3. Who knew that one iPhone photo would cause such frenzy? Yes, I was there for the 2010 fire at Cobo Hall in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show. See what all the fuss was about.

4. This article gave me my first hate email. It was about Publicity and Web Series, but someone got their panties in a bunch over what I had written. Tubefilter also referenced the article in a recent post as well.

5. The Legend of Neil fans are exactly that.....legendary. Their continued support for our episode of The Web Files with Sandeep Parikh and Tony Janning is amazing and I always appreciate them stopping by. Here's their behind the scenes feature: Legend of Neil.

So, that's the Top 5 at the halfway point of 2010. Let me know what your favorite article has been this year. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

As the days dwindle before my vacation, I want to make sure I capture all of the excitement surrounding the SOLO the Series premiere: a packed house, lots of giveaways, and a long awaited series screening. We were back at Cinespace which has become one of the "go-to" locations for web series premieres. You might even recognize the background from the Compulsionsepisode. We were able to grab the cast right before they headed into the screening room to give us their thoughts on the series and what item they would like to have with them if they were stranded in space. SOLO the Series, created by Jonathan Nail, follows the journey of man stranded in space after his reality show is cancelled and that is when the hilarity really begins.

We were able to interview some familiar faces to the web series landscape from Michele Boyd of The Guild to Brittney Powell and Tom Konkle of Safety Geeks: SVI. What? You don't remember seeing a full interview with Brittney and Tom in our episode? I joke that they are on The Web Files every week, so I don't want to disappoint you. Find out about their participation in SOLO the Series in this Red Carpet Closet extra:

The one person I was really excited to interview was Jay Caputo who plays Jack Spratt, the reality show producer whose behind the scenes shenanigans with the Japanese mafia get them all into trouble. If you are a frequent reader here, you know I am an uber-gymnastics geek. Well, Jay was on the National team as an elite gymnast, a successful NCAA athlete, and he participated in the 1992 Olympic Trials. Impressive, right? Well, Jay was not so impressed with my excitement. Watch my awkwardness unfold onscreen:

As for creator, Jonathan Nail, it was exciting to watch his big night. This show has been a long time in coming and he did a great job with the premiere. He built on the momentum with a packed house of supporters, he offered up fantastic prizes for a raffle to help raise money for the rest of shooting season (And boy, were there some excited winners--Hello, A Good Knight's Quest table.) and belief in the project permeated the room. I think we all felt that we want Jonathan, the cast, and the show to succeed. This truly was Jonathan's night and his pet project. He had a lot of support behind the scenes too with web series power couple (Okay, I just termed that, but I like it.), Allison Vanore and Rob Gokee. I finally met Allison after months of communicating on Twitter. After meeting her in person, I understand why she is in demand as a producer: confident, smart, and really sharp. So, book her now if you want to work with her, I have a feeling it is onwards and upwards with her career. Rob is familiar to many of you from our Web Files Buzzepisode back in March. He scored a majority of SOLO the Series and he is a great example of utilizing social media to market and gain new clients.

I was also grateful to be asked to moderate the Q&A after the screening. One of the most important ideas that came up was casting in a web series. It has been a common occurrence to cast your friends in all of the roles. It is a great idea to band together to create new work, but sometimes you wind up with someone that may be miscast or doesn't have the acting chops of everyone around them. Well, Jonathan Nail brought in casting director, Laurie Records, to help with SOLO. It adds another layer of professionalism to the production and by holding auditions, you might find an actor who brings new meaning and layers to the words you have written as a creator. It's an interesting thought, so if you are able to set aside a budget to hire a casting director, you may see your work take shape on levels you might not have realized otherwise. I point it out because it's just another little morsel to nibble on while your next web series idea is brewing.

I know a lot of you are waiting for the big debut of SOLO the Series and that day is coming soon. Be sure to check out Episode 1 on July 6th at WatchSolo.com. Congratulations to the cast! It truly was a magical night.

Enjoy our episode, I think you will hear about a lot of different aspects to the production from shooting on the small set with Dirctor of Photography, PJ Gaynard, to playing a robot, PHAL9000, with actor, Jason Burns. If you want a tour of the set, see our Web Files Buzz episode with Jonathan from February. Now, check out all of the action from the red carpet premiere:

Sunday, June 27, 2010

It's been awhile since I have covered a teen premiere, so I felt like the old lady on the red carpet. It was a fun night though at the premiere of Miss Behave, a new web series on Koldcast TV. The series follows the duplicitous life of Tori, a 16-year-old, and her older brother, Billy, who is dealing with sexual identity issues. The unique twist to this series is that it is produced by its 17-year-old star, Jillian Clare. She helps bring a young and truthful voice to the issues facing teens today. Check out all of the fun on the red carpet with Mingle Media TV.

The star on her big night, Jillian Clare:
Adorable Bianca Magick in her beautiful yellow BCBG frock:
And the funniest interview of the night, Kyle Kaplan, who is a fan of cougars because he started the interview right off by asking me to be his date. If he looks familiar, then you must be a fan of 10 Things I Hate About You on ABC Family.....sshhhh, I won't tell anyone.

To see all of the interviews from the evening: Mingle Media TV.
To see all of the photos from the red carpet: Flickr

On Thursday night I headed out to the Castaway in Burbank for the 36th Annual Saturn Awards honoring the year's best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films. It proved to be an interesting night with Mingle Media TV: sexting, flirting, and Spock blocking. Let's take a look at a few of my favorite interviews and photos from the evening.

We will start with the downright bizarre with Billy Dee Williams. I don't know about you, but his iconic turn as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars trilogy is enough to get my jaded red carpet heart excited. Well, I don't know if Billy was hitting the Colt 45 hard in the limo, but this interview was, um, interesting. It starts right off the bat with sexting on the iPhone 4:
Saving the day was the incredibly sweet Mark Pellegrino who played Jacob on Lost. Now, I honestly didn't ever watch the show, but my boyfriend was obsessed with every detail surrounding it. I, on the other hand, considered myself a Lost widow on Tuesday nights. However, Mark kindly indulged me in a photo for my boyfriend and made a friend for life in me. You can see our interview here.

Leonard Nimoy stopped by as well that night. He looks great, in shape, spry, and his wife is a little spitfire too. We managed to share an interview with the Space network out of Canada, but we were "Spock Blocked" from our own individual interview by the persistent creator of an upcoming animated film. I won't name him, but you know who you are. If a star of huge wattage walks on the red carpet, step aside, the media outlets will always get back to you, but we need to get the money shot. It truly is a food chain in Hollywood and when you "Spock Block" us from getting our individual interview, we don't interview you afterwards. (Thanks to JD Piche for coining the term "Spock Block" which I happily stole for this post.)
**Update** We have the "Spock Blocked" video for all of you to enjoy. See how it all unfolds:

Finally my favorite interview of the night, James Remar. He was there representing Dexter, while I wanted him there representing Sex and the City. I shamelessly flirted with him and I made him blush. A successful evening on the red carpet!
You can catch all of the interviews including Lance Reddick, Shaun Toub, and Malcolm McDowell on Mingle Media TV and all of the photos from the evening on Flickr.

Friday, June 25, 2010

In this episode of The Web Files, it's all about TheWB.com. We were lucky enough to spend the morning there interviewing both Jace Hall with his new show, Chadam, and the cast and creator of EXPOSED. Even though I have lived in LA for ten years, I still get giddy when I pull up onto any studio lot. I never had designs on an acting career, but I love the allure of a studio lot where all of the Hollywood magic occurs. We pulled up and unloaded the gear onto the requisite studio golf cart and off to Jace Hall's HD Films we go!

If you haven't met Jace before, he is tall-not like kind of tall, like super tall. We had to balance out the height difference on the chairs by stuffing pillows under and behind the cushions I was sitting on. Once we established a normal eye line for the interview, we were off and running to talk about Chadam, a fantastical animated series with the classic tale of good versus evil. With an impressive list of voice actors like Katey Sagal, Carl Weathers, and Jeffrey Coombs, bringing the characters to life, Chadam offers a new perspective to animation on the web. Be sure to follow Jace on his blog because he has a robust slate of web and television projects from his production company, HD Films. (Especially for you V fans, he's the Executive Producer.)

Next up, a long awaited series and interview with Streamy Award winning director, Blake Calhoun about his new series, EXPOSED. This was our first interview on The Web Files via Skype. Technically, the Skype interview worked well, but I am still waiting for even more resolution on a Skype connection. If it looks a bit muddy on Oprah's show, well, it's definitely going to on our end too, but I think it worked out with our two-camera shot on the Skype interview. In the interview, Blake made some great points about working with local actors and creating work outside of the "LA web series bubble". It can be done and with success, it is just a matter of creating a piece that has tight writing, high production value, and the momentum to get noticed. I know it isn't easy, but Blake is a great example of working outside the Hollywood structure.
We also had a chance to talk to Chase Jeffrey and Kimberly Matula about their experiences in working with Blake. They each are a part of Calhoun's stable of actors, so you will see them in other series like Pink and in his upcoming film, Spilt Milk. Poor Kimberly got stuck in massive LA traffic when an oil rig overturned on the 134, but like a trooper she plowed through and gave us a great interview about EXPOSED. And if you are a soap fan, you can catch Kimberly playing Hope Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.

For more information on this episode, check out the article written by Mathieas McNaughton: Tubefilter

Thursday, June 24, 2010

On June 29th, I will be speaking with Dance Channel TV on a terrific panel about "What is new and innovative in dance today?" hosted by Career Transitions for Dancers. The event is FREE and it should be a fantastic night about the emergence of technology and the arts. All of the pertinent information is below. I hope to see you there!

I will be moderating a panel on Wednesday, June 30th from 6-8PM for SAG Foundation featuring the wildly successful Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV and acclaimed author, Robert Pagliarini. I hope you can join me either in person or via the Live Stream. We are also taking questions via email and Twitter and the event is FREE.

All of the pertinent information is below:

Crush It! Using Your Other 8 Hours

to Monetize Your Art

featuring bestselling authors Gary Vaynerchuk and Robert Pagliarini

Wednesday, June 30th 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Pacific)

“The social media revolution has changed the way we live our lives and conduct our business.”

- Gary Vaynerchuk, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Crush It: Why

Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion, creator, Wine Library TV and co-founder, Vayner Media.

“We're living at an amazing time where it's possible to catapult our finances to a new level with a little creativity and free time.”

The democratization of media has obliterated the barriers to entry for anyone interested in creating and monetizing their own content. With more artists needing to work survival jobs to make ends meet, creating and finding an audience in one’s “free time” is becoming more critical than ever... and it has never been easier!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I am here to give you choices today, I'm going to call it "Choose Your Own Adventure" Wednesday. If you are in the mood for a little glitz and glam, check out the red carpet premiere of SOLO the Series created by Jonathan Nail and starring The Guild's Michele Boyd, Jason Burns, and Jay Caputo. Find out what everyone would bring on their adventure if they were stranded in space:If you are looking for something along the lines of gadgets and tech, then take a look at Episode 2 of the MoreWireLess series I hosted for Broadcom. This week's episode features Premium Sound with Bluetooth Technology. My mom even said she learned something from the premiere episode, maybe you will too!As always, thanks for watching......

Sunday, June 20, 2010

If you want to know how varied my career is, take a look at these three videos that all came out this week. From fitness to technology to the red carpet, I think I have covered it all:

The Rhythm Rocker Infomercial: See me co-host a fitness video with Giuliana Rancic's personal trainer, Jennifer Galardi. It was a long day on set, but a really enjoyable one. Jenn and I got along fabulously and I loved my Lulu Lemon yoga pants. Any day your butt looks good in tight pants, especially on TV, is a good one! I hop onto the screen at about the 1:58 mark:Broadcom: This is the first in a ten-week series delivering a the basics of Bluetooth. Although most of you are well-schooled in hooking up your Bluetooth technology, this video is for your aunt who is just getting rid of her flip cell phone with an antenna and joining the rest of us with Smart Phones.

Summer Festival of Short Films at The Egyptian: Back to my comfort zone, I hop on the red carpet

to interview the cast and crew of several short films participating in the festival. The red carpet was

pretty disorganized with actors running IN FRONT of the camera and ruining many interviews. Trust

me, I have another red carpet post coming your way on this topic soon. It happens more than you think.

Reporting for Mingle Media TV, here's one of the interviews with the cast of Skip Listening:

P.S. I love this screen capture. What the heck am I doing with my hand?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

As many of you know, I cover a lot of events, red carpets, panels, and conferences for my job, some events are more exciting than others. When I come upon the annual "Choreographers in Media" panel each year, I get giddy. As a former dancer, it's a thrill to hear about the history of dance and where the art form is headed. That is what the panel, sponsored by Dance Camera West, offers each year. Last year, the panel offered a powerhouse of top choreographers like Maguerite Derricks, Chucky Klapow, and Tyce Diorio. It was a bittersweet event because Chucky kept us all glued to our seats with updates on Michael Jackson's "This is It" tour which he was rehearsing with Kenny Ortega down at the Staples Center. Less than a week later, Michael had passed away. His contribution to dance and choreography is not forgotten as Michael was a huge topic of conversation at this year's panel including Lula Washington, Kim Blank, Chuck Maldonado, and Larry Billman as moderator.

I had the opportunity to interview all four of them individually for Dance Channel TV and they each brought something exciting to the panel. Lula is a firecracker! I am thrilled to see that modern dance is getting its due in mainstream entertainment and it doesn't get any bigger than James Cameron's Avatar. The challenges presented to Lula were often on the technological side, but she created four wonderful ballets for the movie all while using motion capture. While we didn't get to see those full ballets onscreen, I am hoping Mr. Cameron saves it for the extras on the DVD.

Chuck represented the male point of view on this panel. As a choreographer, he is working on his 20th film in less than a decade. That is truly an impressive number because he has only been in LA since 2001. His speciality is stepping and he gave DCTV a little highlight of his signature move. If you want to see what he is truly capable of, rent Stomp the Yard. It is a choreographic feat in terms of stepping sequences. I also like that Chuck talked about the importance of a choreographer on set because a director is not trained to see movement the way a dancer is trained. He talks about all of the possibilities for a choreographer on set during his interview.

And then there is Kim. As a dancer working in the 1980's, she was there for the MTV explosion back when music videos were a pioneering art form. Michael Jackson was king and musical artists created stories behind the music. It was interesting to hear Kim say the Thriller video was considered "a great gig" at the time. She was young, so she was in awe of the people she was working with MJ, choreographer, Michael Peters, and legendary dancer, Gary Chapman. She didn't realize she was going to be a part of pop culture history, the music video that sent me rushing home from school each afternoon. It's hard for this generation of dancers to understand that we went into a frenzy anytime the video was played because MTV barely register on the pop culture radar anymore.

Larry proved to be a terrific moderator for this panel since his vast movie and television choreography knowledge validates the importance of dance in all artistic mediums. He spent years at Disney Live Entertainment and he talked about the cultural significance of the Mouse in dance during the variety show years heyday. The Kids of the Kingdom dancers performed with Anne Margaret, Bob Hope, in front of Presidents, and at the Super Bowl. It was one of the best gigs in the industry at the time. While the landscape has changed, he still believes that Michael Jackson has the most influence on choreography even in 2010. If you are interested in learning more, Larry has a terrific book called Film Choreographers and Dance Directors. (link posted below)

Two important notes also came out of this panel. One involved the importance of mentoring. We lost significant choreographers in the 80's from Michael Bennett to Michael Peters to Bob Fosse. Those great losses also created the "lost" years in dance. There were years without a driving force in dance and innovations in the industry. Each of the choreographers on the panel talked about the importance of teaching and mentoring young dancers who are interested in working behind the scenes in TV and film. As a choreographer in Hollywood, you need to be a producer, a director, and an artist all at once. They don't want to lose the momentum that dance currently has, so they are working hard to raise the next generation in the industry. Finally, the YouTube revolution has also changed the face of dance. For an artist, you can't be one dimensional to succeed, you need to find your place in multimedia. It can be a challenge, but technology is playing an important role in all art forms.

If you missed the panel, check out all of the highlights from Dance Channel TV:
PS LA Dancers: There will be another panel coming up on June 29th at SAG from Career Transitions for Dancers called : Dancer's Roundtable: What is new and innovative in dance today? You can find all of the information here.

Friday, June 18, 2010

With my recent posts about The Tony Awards and the theatre scene in Los Angeles, I have received a lot of questions about theatre careers and education. First and foremost, an education is key to any career including theatre. There are many terrific options in California, but upon taking a closer look at the University of Redlands, I realized that there is a gem of a theatre department waiting to be discovered. As a top California university, they have kept up with other competitive theatre schools with a state of the art performing arts facility that opened in February of 2010. The new Frederick Loewe Theatre is a part of the 42,000 square foot facility with the inaugural production of the long running Off-Broadway show, The Fantasticks. With this new Arts Center, the Loewe Theatre adds support to the long standing Glenn Wallichs Festival Theater on campus, which recently produced the play, Mrs. California, in April.

Curriculum in a theatre department is also a vital part of the education process. Besides the obvious acting technique classes, it is important to be well rounded in the theatre arts. The University of Redlands offers courses in Theatre Technology, Theatre History, and even Set Design. This allows a student to explore both sides of the curtain before embarking on an arts career. In additional to the core curriculum, students can also take advantage of internships with professional companies like the Sante Fe Opera and the Mark Taper Forum or participate in the Theatre Odyssey Program which “provides hands-on, in-depth encounters with artists and organizations that reflect the (1) cultural diversity, (2) theatrical innovation and (3) professional expertise unique to Southern California and that contribute to the students' engagement with best practices in the field”.

So, if you are looking to earn a university degree focusing on the theatre arts, make sure to add the University of Redlands to your list. To find out more about the theatre department at this top Southern California university, click here to the College of Arts & Sciences.

This is a paid advertisement. Per the FTC regulations, any paid posts must be disclosed.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I am a little behind on some of my posts, but I wanted to give a shout out to all of the winners at the Stay Tuned TV Awards which happened on June 6th. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the work of independent creators and producers. Frank Zanca and Timothy Ryder, the founders of Stay Tuned TV, put on a fantastic show to honor the shows on their site. The night was emceed by Todd Bridges, AKA Willis on Diffr'ent Strokes. Todd kept us laughing throughout the night, but I will say it was interesting timing given that Gary Coleman had passed away the week before. Regardless, he was an entertaining host and it was thrilling for me to interview an 80's TV icon.

I was lucky enough to not only cover the red carpet for Mingle Media TV, but attend the event. I was also thrilled to discover a funny new web series called The Actor Diaries created by and starring Kate VanDevender. I think a lot of actors here in LA can relate to her stories and laugh along with her. She ran away with Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Comedy that evening. Now, go support a new show and check out episode one:

Below, you will find a few of my favorite red carpet interviews from the night. If you are looking for more action from the red carpet, be sure to check out Mingle Media TV:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Check out all of the summer action from TheWB.com with their slate of series that launched on June 15th. We have the VEEEEERRRRYYYYY tall, Jace Hall, talking about a fascinating animated project, Chadam, and the cast of EXPOSED from Streamy Award winning director, Blake Calhoun. In fact, he joins us from Dallas for our first Skype interview. More behind the scenes coming later this week. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy:

This had to be the hottest night in Hollywood! Yep, it was the premiere of Squatters on Dailymotion at Capitol City. With tons of fans from the Heidi, Frosty, and Frank radio show in attendance, it made for a sizzling night. Did I mention it was hot? Yeah, if you notice from all of the shiny faces in this episode. It was a tough night for makeup (and my wilted hair!) on the red carpet. That didn't take away from any of the fun though. The premiere occurred at the same location as A Good Knight's Quest, so it may look familiar to you. The funny thing about the space at Capitol City for the red carpet is that it is a little glass-encased area, so I wind up spending a good portion of the night in what I have dubbed, "The Human Aquarium". People are able to see the red carpet interviews and wave from behind the glass as they are entering the premise, hence, "The Human Aquarium" moniker. Interviewing Producer/Radio Host, Frank Kramer.

One really interesting aspect to this production was the show's tie to radio. Erik Scott Smith is a producer on the Heidi, Frosty, and Frank radio show on KABC 790 AM here in LA. The trio are a well-known radio team (I'm a huge fan.) in Southern California and to have them come out and support new media was a real treat. Frank Kramer invested in the series and he promoted the show on air throughout the entire process. It is nice to see all areas of entertainment working together instead of the mediums battling it out for viewership and ad dollars. Another thing this popular radio crew brings is fans. They have legions of fans that show up to any public appearances, so Squatters was no exception. The venue was packed!Creator of Squatters, Brendan Bradley, and yes, I did make him sing a la The Legend of Neil. (It was edited out for time, bummer!)

Finally, Mathieas McNaughton, of Tubefilter wrote a lovely article about our episode with Squatters and he wanted to know why I didn't mention the craziest place I ever slept. It wound up on the cutting room floor, but for you, Matthieas, here it is: I illegally spent the night squirreled away in a secret room in the back of a Chinese run hotel in the middle of a monsoon on my way to Kanding (an area of Tibet). I would explain more, but I think that would ruin the mystery, right? Producer/Actor Cooper Harris explaining the challenges of shooting in a NY subway.

A big thanks to Cooper Harris for all of her assistance in getting The Web Files to cover the Squatters premiere and to our line producer, Jenn Page, and cameraman, Trent Ward, thanks for pitching in while Sandra and Perry were out of town. We couldn't have done it without your tremendous contributions that night. If you missed the episode, check it out below, along with a bonus interview from the lovely Cooper Harris at the Streamy Awards:

Monday, June 14, 2010

Here's a quick round-up of photos from the Xbox 360 Kinect Launch at the Galen Center tonight at the start of E3 week. I was kindly invited by Stephanie Piche of Mingle Media TV and I jumped at the chance to check out Cirque du Soleil present the new Microsoft system with flair in a way that only Cirque can. The presentation did not disappoint: walking on the ceiling, flying, dancing, and a light show the audience participated in with magical capes. The idea of a gaming system without an actual controller is cool, but I wasn't super impressed with the games they showed us. And I am talking about it from a casual gamer point of view. I've got a Wii and an PS3 in the house, and I felt like Kinect gave me a rehash of the games I already own except for the awesome light saber game for Star Wars. (It also received the largest reaction from the audience.) Regardless, the evening was fun, enjoy the photos below, and Happy E3!

In line, while one of the Cirque drummers keeping us occupied while we wait.........

And wait........

Yep, me still waiting..........look, they finally let me in and I encounter a very tall man.....

It's no secret that I was a network host for ShopNBC and the on-air rep for Stila Cometics on QVC earlier in the decade. You may think I have put my home shopping days behind me, but I still keep up with all of the news on one of my favorite blogs, Home Shopping Queen. While perusing the site one day, I happily stumbled upon a Twitter giveaway of Physician's Endorsed accessories. Given that it is summer and I am a befreckled bottle blonde, it is important for me to always cover up in the sun. Even though I never win these things, I typed my 140 characters on Twitter to enter the contest. Little did I know, I would be the winning entry! After communicating with Queen Bea of Home Shopping Queen, I received my new hat and sunglasses in the mail. Here are the long-awaited photos of my new glam summer look. Not only are they perfect for my upcoming summer trip, the hat and sunglasses are even better than I ever imagined: high quality, trendy, and ideal for the fair-haired, fair-skinned ladies of the world. So, be sure to check out Physician's Endorsed for your summer accessories and stop by and say "hi" to Queen Bea for all the latest in home shopping scoop. Thanks, QB and Physician's Endorsed!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

When this episode came out last week, we posted that it was "fun", "hilarious", and "one of our favorite episodes" of 2010. The more I think about it and after watching it a second time, it may be my favorite Web Files episode of all time. That's a pretty hard thing to accomplish given that we have shot 39 episodes of The Web Files and 5 episodes of The Web Files Buzz. It was a pretty simple set-up with me and Zack Finfrock, the new host of Backyard FX, sitting in a couple of chairs on the side porch of his house. Okay, not so simple. While Zack lives out in the country, there are lots of natural and unnatural sound effects to be had in his idyllic environment: horses, planes, motorcycles, an organ!!, birds, and a lawn mower or two. All unplanned, but all perfect environmental sounds for an interview featuring Backyard FX. Another interesting note about the location: the house is actually a geodesic home that was once owned by The Smurfs creator who loved to decorate the house in, yes, you guessed it, blue.

Zack is really laid back, which made for a very natural interview. His creative talents are numerous and many of you may have seen his work already and not even realized it. Zack was nominated for a Streamy Award, along with Brett Register and Jeff Bell, for Best Visual Effects in a Web Series, for The Crew. While he didn't win, I am so pleased that he is able to channel that talent as the new face of Backyard FX. It really is a great blend of his skills as a graphic artist, actor, and now, host in one show. He's a natural fit and his legion of fans have already followed him to this episode of The Web Files. Now he doesn't do it all alone, he has a team behind the scenes of Backyard FX that makes up a huge part of the test films you see in the show. So, their production company, Wayside Creations, truly is a fun band of talented creators.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Puppet Zack who had a nice cameo in the episode. Zack created the puppet off of one of the episodes that Erik Beck, the original host of Backyard FX, shot. It is like stepping into a whole Avenue Q performance. That's how good the puppet looks in person, so I am glad we were able to feature Puppet Zack. And oh yes, he's a good kisser. (Stay tuned to the very end of the credits to see what I am talking about.)

Finally, I am really impressed with the slate of shows that Next New Networks and Indy Mogul are putting out on the web. High quality shows with intelligent content that really hit a core audience. I hope to one day do a show for them because they seem to be keeping their fingers on the pulse of web television. So, head on over there and check out their slate of shows. If you need a place to start, visit VendrTV or Freezer Burns for some foodie fun.

If you missed the episode, watch it here:

Tomorrow brings a new episode and all of the action from the red carpet premiere of Dailymotion's Squatters.